Research Overview
Our research addresses two broad questions about cognitive development:
What basic perceptual and cognitive abilities are we born with?
How do we use these basic abilities to form uniquely human knowledge?
Current Areas of Focus
Early Quantitative Abilities
How do early developing abilities to approximate, compare, and remember quantities influence later numerical and math development?
Early Social Cognitive Abilities
How do we come to understand the goals, intentions, and thoughts of others?
Conceptual Organization and Specialization
How can early brain organization inform theories of conceptual development? What is the role of experience in the functional organization of the brain?
Current Research Methods
All these methods have undergone rigorous testing and are safe to use with infants, children, and adults!
EEG/ERP
We use electroencephalography, or EEG, to passively record changes in brain activity from the scalp.
What is EEG?
Electroencephalography (EEG) is a technique used to measure changes in electrical activity on the scalp. As the brain works, tiny changes in electrical charge result and can be measured from the scalp (Muscle movement and eye blinks also create scalp electrical activity).
To measure this activity, participants wear a stretchy net-like cap with many embedded sensors. Each sensory is attached to a sponge, which rests softly on the scalp. These sensors passively record naturally occurring changes in electrical acidity as participants do our experiments.
Our sensor nets are specifically designed to go on very quickly and comfortably without much adjustment so we can accommodate participants of all ages!
For a detailed description of the biological and mathematical details of this technique please read the Wikipedia page for EEG!
NIRS
We use near-infrared spectroscopy, or NIRS, to measure neurovascular changes associated with brain activity from the scalp.
What is NIRS?
Near-infrared spectroscopy uses light to estimate brain activity. You may have used a similar technology, pulse oximetry, at the doctor’s office to measure your pulse by putting your finger putting a small sleeve with a red light in it.
Instead of shining light on your finger, we shine it on your or your child’s head! To do so, participants (infants, children, or adults) wear a cloth cap (which looks like a swim cap) with light sources and detectors embedded in it. While wearing this cap, the participant will view pictures and/or hear sounds.
This method is safe for use with any age participant including newborn infants, children, and adults. The amount of light exposure is no more than routinely encountered in daily activities.
For a detailed description of the biological and mathematical details of this technique please read the Wikipedia page for NIRS and the Scholarpedia page for NIRS!
Behavioral Measures
We use measures of behaviors such reaction time, looking time, and accuracy to better understand how development unfolds and how it relates to brain activity.
Experimental Training
We use brief training procedures to understand the role of practice or experience in cognitive development.
